Time management ebook

Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com -1- Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TO TIME MANAGEMENT WHAT IS TIME MANAGEMENT? ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS GROWING YOUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS THRIVE FINANCIALLY 11 LIVE A HEALTHIER LIFE 13 LIVE A HAPPIER AND STRESS FREE LIFE 14 THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME MANAGEMENT TO YOUR WORK 16 THE HAZARDS OF PROCRASTINATION 21 TIME MANAGEMENT THEORIES 30 MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS 32 TIME MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 40 FINAL THOUGHTS 50 -2- Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com Introduction To Time Management Life is very busy, and at times, everyone needs a little help making things come together and makes sense That is what this eBook is all about - - helping to make things come together and make sense Time management is a vital and critical skill that an individual must possess and have a solid grasp on in order to be successful in any field However, it is particularly important skill and manoeuvre for those individuals who are trying to make a living online This eBook was written with those in mind who have a desire to become more organized and more productive It was designed to help individuals achieve a better understanding and discipline of time management and the important significance that it has both in their business and personal lives Throughout this eBook on Time Management and its principles, you will find helpful definitions, explanations, and examples of time management tips and techniques These strategies will focus on how time management relates to those who own an online business It will also speak to those who are currently working as Internet marketers The Internet is loaded with a lot of valuable useful information that the everyday entrepreneur can glean a lot from But, it is also loaded with quite a bit of fluff and unnecessary content The task can be quite strenuous for those who are working online trying to sift through it all in an effort to find good, relevant information for their purposes -3- Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com The successful online marketer has a commodity called Time, and they don’t have very much of it One of the main keys to being a successful online business owner or Internet marketer is acquiring the skills that they need to sift through the readily available information and find ways to effectively manage their time The information contained within this Time Management ebook will show you how to eliminate hours off of your schedule and become more productive We will share tips on how you can increase your available hours and branch out into other, lucrative and rewarding money- making ventures This ebook will also show you ways that you can carve out time for relaxing, time for family, or even time to other activities that increase your quality of life When you properly understand time management and how it works, you can then make a structured plan for your everyday life and find more productive hours Once you have learned how to properly manage your time, both in personal and in business aspects, every other aspect of your life will improve You will then find yourself achieving more and being more successful than you thought was possible -4- Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com What is Time Management? Time management is a concept that will be reiterated over and over again as you go through your life, constantly reminding you of the necessity of effectively managing the time that you have from day to day The concept itself is fairly easy to grasp But the actual concept of time management is much more difficult than simply listing a definition What then is time management? The official definition of time management states that it is a myriad of activities and theories that helps us to live a more productive, effective and successful life However, a look at the multiple benefits and various techniques, which make up time management, helps you to have a better understanding of what it really is -5- Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com Achieving Your Goals Effective time management allow business-minded individuals to list their goals, giving them a visual of where it is that they want to be and a clear directive on how to get there It also gives them a way and means to achieve those goals But, if you are not at all interested in effectively managing your time, then you not have an immediate need for goals You would never be able to achieve your goals without a specific plan or guidelines Think about this for a moment: without the activity of time management in your life, then you would essentially jump from one activity to the next with no sense of direction or purpose Your life would not be very full and you may even experience feelings of selfdoubt and become non-productive By instituting a time management plan and life-planning goals and daily activities, setting those goals becomes of the utmost importance It is so important that as a business owner, that you set and achieve both personal and long-term business goals Without having an established set of goals to guide you, it becomes nearly is impossible to effectively manage your time, because you have no idea where your time would be best spent -6- Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com By setting goals, you will give yourself goals to work towards, and, you will be able to put together a schedule that enables you to achieve those goals You can sensibly gain a higher sense of self-confidence and self-achievement when you introduce solid, applicable time management techniques into your schedule Become More Productive A business owner’s dream is to become more productive and make more use of his or her available time, right? Why then should you become more productive? Because not only does time management help you to achieve your goals and further your business position, but effective time management also helps you in leading a more productive and fruitful life You see, when you increase your productivity levels, the benefits are endless; enabling you to achieve a greater amount of work than you ever could before For instance, if you delegate responsibilities at home or at work, you are able to increase the amount of productive time that you have on projects, business affairs and even within your personal time When you implement strategic time management techniques, you are then allowing yourself to become more productive You are also eliminating time wasters and time distracters and freeing up your available time for other more important tasks -7- Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com In other words, you are eliminating distractions and focusing on the task at hand and on the job that you have to -8- Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com Growing Your Personal Relationships When you want to know the true meaning and the true character of an individual, you often don’t have to venture too far to get your answer Who they really are is often a matter of what their home life is like and what their personal relationships are like Determining the true definition of time management could perhaps require you to look a little closer to home since time management is defined as a simplistic way to help nurture, grow and expand personal relationships Do you have an excess amount of time to spare? If you do, consider spending this quality time with loved ones in an effort to create a -9- Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com thriving balance in your personal relationships The benefits will be great and the rewards are beyond measurement However, if you not properly manage your time or you are overwhelmed in your business relationships, you might eventually consider taking time away from family and friends to make up for it In the long run, this can be the worst thing that you can There is only a certain amount of hours in a day that you have to work within You see, in order to complete the tasks that need to and that have to be done, you must take time from other areas in order to complete these tasks So, what ends up happening is that time that should be spent on relationship building and nurturing is then used to get these other tasks done This inadvertently creates feelings of resentment with your friends and family members and can also lead to hostile relationships with them as well Those family members may feel as if they are not important to you or worth the time that it takes to nurture their bond with you Eventually, a personal relationship loss can also cause depression and withdrawals in other aspects of your life Another thing that it can also is to cause you to fall even farther and farther behind in your work, which eventually, can lead to even more and more non-productivity in your business life Proper scheduling and a fair assessment and implementation of time management techniques can help you find and achieve any goals that - 10 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com that you try to fit around your big tasks without having them interfere with your large tasks The sand is indicative of things like chores and other necessary evils that you HAVE to in order for your life to run smooth Those responsibilities, like the sand, simply fit in when they can and wherever they can And what is the water akin to? It is like distractions that force their way into your daily schedule, wreaking havoc and not apologizing for it Within the course of an average day, there are many things that you need to accomplish in order to be successful But if you can arrange your day in a productive, flowing manner, you can be like the pickle jar and feel accomplished and satisfied each day You can find the time that you need to schedule room for everything that you need to The purpose of the Pickle Jar Time Management theory is to help you in scheduling your time more effectively and arranging it so that it can yield the maximum results possible When you are making a schedule with this theory, you want to be sure to list the largest priorities first, and then deftly mix in the other small tasks around them Let’s look at an example of this application If you need to develop a new marketing article that you will make available to your clients or potential customers, you must first layout a plan that you will use in order to get to the finished product - 36 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com First, as a pressing priority, you would need to flesh out the particulars of the project with the client Next, you will need to create a website for the project on the client as it relates to the marketing concept You would then perhaps set a deadline date to have the material finished by so that you can ensure that everything is completed by that date In addition, you will fill in the project specifications with other light distractions in order to keep the project interesting, but not too much that it will take you off focus and keep you from completing the tasks at hand Pareto’s Principle Vilfredo Pareto was an economic specialist who developed a math equation to detail the unequaled distribution of wealth in Italy in 1906 He used what he called the “80/20 principle” and the application of this theory is still in use today This theory states that 80 percent of the riches of the world are owned by a mere 20 percent of the people in the world His assessment of this was founded upon his extensive researching and observing the natural flow of human behavior During the 1940s, Dr Joseph M Juran took Pareto’s idea and made what is now called the Pareto’s Principle, which is a simple time management theory The principle is actually centered on the belief - 37 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com principle that 20 percent of the actions in your life really make a difference, and that almost 80 percent of the things that you in your life not Using this theory, you can then decide if 20 percent of your actions are important and which actions will produce results When it becomes clear to you, you can then focus mainly on them and give them the attention they need in order for you to become optimally productive However, the only discrepancy with this line of thinking is that it does not leave very much room for adjustments or emergencies in your schedule You may in fact feel a little frustration even in trying to get it to work However, there is a workable remedy or an alternate solution to this challenge If you are able to make a schedule that shows 20 percent of the actions that make a significant difference, leaving room for distractions and interruptions, you could very well see some success in this theory As it relates to Internet marketers and online business owners, focusing on the actions that have made significant money for you or the actions that have helped your business progress the most, then you will find that this is where you can be most successful By contrast, if you only focus on the insignificant things that bring success, leaving no time for rest and rejuvenation, you will find - 38 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com yourself continually frustrated and your life in a state of clutter and distraction These are just some examples of various time management theories that will help you to better understand how time management works These theories can help you lay a firm foundation for your own time management schedule Once you find a certain theory that works well for you, you will then be able to create a strong schedule that allows you to maintain a good time management and a structured business and personal life - 39 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com Time Management Activities Not participating in or taking advantage of good, solid time management activities on a daily basis will end up in your schedule controlling you In other words, you will find that you working on a triage basis; whatever is on fire get the water first! Many people set goals of achieving time management processes, but often not know about the various time management activities that they can and should try This can be a huge roadblock on the road to properly managing your time When you work from home, you must watch your time and your schedule very carefully Your time can quickly get away from you and you can lose focus with the goals that you are trying to accomplish as well What can you to remedy this? Let’s look at a few things that you can try List Your Goals As a first step, listing your goals is an important tool because it provides you with a basis of things to work from as you schedule your day and set things in a workable order - 40 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com It’s important for a work at home entrepreneur to adequately list the goals that he or she is trying to achieve First, make a succinct list of the goals that you have set for your online business This gives you a clear assignment of direction and shows you at a glance the things that you need to to get there Without goal setting or goal achievements, there is nothing to motivate you to work towards something You cannot achieve time management without it Your goals can be as simple as establishing one new client this week, making one marketing call per week or even making it a goal to work a set number of hours per day Whatever your goal is, whether it is large or small, goal setting will invariably help you to achieve your purpose As you clearly list your goals and define where you want to go, you then establish a general idea of where your time is best spent each day This way, you can use creative scheduling techniques to focus on your main business goals, using them to sort through and schedule in activities around the highest priority ones - 41 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com Recognize Where Your Time is Wasted Try this activity: On a sheet of paper list everything that you did on a particular day (preferably the same day or the day before) Next, separate your day into half hour blocks and include all activities, whether you deem them important or not This would include things like driving, eating, sleeping, children and anything extracurricular When you this and by visually dividing your day into smaller, more manageable blocks, you can then clearly see how you have spent your day - 42 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com Now, after you have compiled this list, you want to go back and look at the list that you have just made so that you can begin eliminating What will you eliminate? You will want to cross out and eliminate activities that are not necessary In addition, any activity that does go directly to your bottom line of productivity will also be cut out or reduced Look for activities that have helped you in furthering the achievement of your goals In some fashion that’s easy for you to grasp, circle them as you will refer back to them later By using this process and utilizing this time management activity, you will be able to see how much time was wasted each day doing the things that were not productive and did not help you meet your goals As an aid, make a mental or written note of those time wasters or distractions that you have experienced and make it a point to cease the activities that relate to them You will find that you can free up hours of time in your schedule Make a schedule One way to get a significant jump on the quest to managing your time more effectively is actually a simple one…make a schedule and stick to it Do this on a DAILY basis as it is only effective with the things that have to be done and finished on that day - 43 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com Pay close attention to time-sensitive appointments or projects that have to be completed within a particular time frame These are the appointments or projects that if handled properly, go directly to your profitable bottom line for your business Very often, we tend to wander, wasting our time from boredom or other distractions These time wasters are the things that lead immediately to procrastination an poor time management To offset these distractions, you can vary the work you from hour to hour or from one block of time to another One of the most integral components that is often left out in making an effective schedule is adding in breaks and periods of rest and time for distractions or emergencies You need breaks when you are - 44 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com working long periods of time so that you can rejuvenate and five the project your optimal performance By weaving breaks into your busy schedule, you essentially ensure that they are taken and that your day’s plans are not disturbed in the process What can you to ensure that you will stick to the schedule no matter what the consequences are? Enforce some type of negative reinforcement that will help you positively meet your goals There is not anyone that is immediately available to you as a home business owner to ensure that you will meet your goals As a lone work from home business owner, you don’t have the luxury of a supervisor who motivates you or even punishes you Learn How to Delegate Delegating is an essential component of learning how to manage your time effectively The process of task delegation can dramatically reduce the time that you need to spend doing those things that not help you meet your business or personal goals What kinds of tasks can you delegate easily and rest assured that they’re done? - 45 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com Personal tasks: Doing laundry Yardwork Doing dishes Cooking meals, vacuuming Business tasks: Emailing newsletters Making cold calls to prospective clients Sending emails, responding to clients Shipping products By delegating particular tasks to other people, or groups of other people, you are then freeing up your time and making your productive work hours more productive Go through your list of delegates and tasks to see what things can be given to others and what should not be given to outside sources Hiring part-time workers for your business can be a plus for it in terms of effective time management Consider hiring a part-time administrative assistant or secretary to help with your inter-office needs This will allow you to spend more time on profitable tasks, letting someone else handle the mundane daily tasks that can often be time grabbers When you delegate tasks, make sure that they are goals that can be satisfactorily accomplished and those that are appropriate as well For instance, you wouldn’t ask your secretary to your household - 46 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com laundry, nor would you have your 12-year old run your client email marketing campaign Make sure when you delegate duties, that the person has the skills and understanding to appropriately complete the tasks Once you have learned how to successfully delegate, you will be able to spend more time working aggressively towards your specific business goals, and less time engaged in things that not improve your business’ situation Eliminate Procrastination While putting off important tasks for a couple of days may free up time in your immediate schedule, it can also cause other potential problems down the road Eventually, you will have to address the task and get it done right away When this happens, and eventually it will, you will find that you cannot put off the task any longer as it will become overwhelming While yes, it is important not to procrastinate, you should also try not to accomplish everything at once without taking breaks or periods of rest You need to be able to complete your tasks with a clear mind and with clear thoughts Trying to complete tasks right away or putting off tasks that should have been finished can prove to be damaging as well as forming a bad habit of procrastinating To avoid any delay problems or scheduling issues, decide when you need to have a task completed by and then work it into your daily - 47 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com schedule You can and should then complete small portions of the task each day, not putting off other tasks, but by wholly concentrating on the task at hand and making sure to complete each phase as you go along Learn to Say No While it is important to delegate tasks whenever possible, it is important as well to avoid loading up on tasks that are too cumbersome for you to effectively by yourself If you are approached and asked to take on more duties and to more things that will add layers of work to your already busy schedule, simply say no You must learn to say no When you learn to say no, you will keep yourself from being overworked You are also avoiding disappointment and letting others - 48 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com down who may be dependent on you Your needs, especially physical, should always come first and be of high priority You must be working yourself in an ideal optimal state in order to produce quality work and materials Avoid Distractions and Consolidate Your Time Finally, when you are working on or consumed with a large task, especially when you are working from home, it may be advantageous to work in large chunks of time, especially in one to two hour blocks While working on large, complicated tasks, it helps to group tasks together and work in blocks of time You feel more like you’ve completed a “project” of sorts, and pieces to a puzzle have been put together To continue a task until you have finished it is much more effective than all-in-one-sitting when you are trying to manage your time - 49 - Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com Final Thoughts As an entrepreneur and an online business owner or Internet marketer, it is extremely important for you to utilize and put time management practices into an effective process for your personal life and for your business Working online each day creates a lot of distractions that you have to work through as a work at home entrepreneur These distractions pull you away from the tasks that you need to complete and the goals that you are trying to reach By following the tips and techniques found within this eBook, you can learn how to effectively manage your time, leading a more productive and a more fulfilled life Freeing up your schedule, finding more workable time and doing the things that lead to a productive life can help you to become a profitable entrepreneur from the comforts of your home! - 50 - .. .Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TO TIME MANAGEMENT WHAT IS TIME MANAGEMENT? ACHIEVING... 14 THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME MANAGEMENT TO YOUR WORK 16 THE HAZARDS OF PROCRASTINATION 21 TIME MANAGEMENT THEORIES 30 MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS 32 TIME MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES... more successful than you thought was possible -4- Time Management | Complete Guide http://www.designhealthylife.com What is Time Management? Time management is a concept that will be reiterated